Photographed in Botswana,  I had trouble trying to identify this bird but after scouring some of the bird groups on Flickr,  I was able to establish it as the lesser striped swallow.    Pity I wasn't a bit more organised,  I could, with a guide's assistance,  have identified the species whilst I was still in the field and noted it down!

     Canon 5D at 700mm (500mm with 1.4x tele extender) at F9.0,  shutter speed 1/1250 second at ISO 400.

    Not a weird Wednesday,  so much as a Wednesday whinge....

Internet frustrations. 

   (To tag,  or not to tag?  That is the question.)

     In recent months I've been alternatively using Technorati or Live Journal "tags" on my blog entries hoping,  that maybe,  they might help people searching the internet for information or articles on specific topics,  to locate relevant content here.   I'm now rethinking this practice and questioning its value.  

      I recall back in 1998 when I got my first computer,  turned it on,  and opened internet explorer for the first time.   In keeping with the advertising of the time,  I asked myself the question,  "where do I want to go?"   Being a complete newbie (I'm not sure if the word had been coined by then or not) I thought,  Microsoft,  there's got to be a site for Microsoft!   So I typed the word in and conducted my first ever internet search.  The search engine returned the "top 10" results of which the first 3 or 4 were for a computer shop situated on the other side of the planet (USA),  number 5 was I'vegotabigpenis.com  (I kid you not) and the remaining 5 sites which were similarly useless,  off topic or offensive.   

      With so many new pages being published on the net,  millions every day,  it's difficult for search engine designers to get it right and keep it relevant.   Having said that,  I believe that companies such as Google have made great efforts in the intervening years to achieve relevance in their searches,  it's an ongoing challenge.   Recently I decided to test some of the Technorati keywords that I've been using to see if firstly,  the results were relevant,  and secondly,  whether or not any of my blog entries were shown.    To cut a long story short,  they failed miserably on both counts.   The fact that my own blog entries aren't seen I can understand,  it's easy to get lost among all those millions of pages.  But on the issue of relevance,  it appears that for Technorati at least,  it's still 1998.  

      For example when clicking on my tag for "Serengeti",  I find out that there's a US based rap singer who calls himself "Serengeti",  there's a company calling itself "Serengeti Enterprises" or similar, which appears to have nothing to do with the actual Serengeti,  oh, and Fred Jones hit 2-0 off Bob Smith in the 9th innings playing for the Houston Daffodils if that means anything to anyone!  (I might have misread that one as it was of absolutely no interest to me)    The point is,  I had to scroll down to result number 14 or 15 to find out about the day rates for a resort that operates on the edge of the Serengeti National Park and that was the first tag result that was even remotely relevant to the search.   For those of you visiting from another planet (or Fred Jones fans) the Serengeti is a region in Tanzania in Africa teeming with extraordinary wildlife and is considered one of the world's great natural wonders.   Worthy of top billing on an internet/blog search I'd have thought.

      Another example,  click on "Malachite Kingfisher" and you'll find out that there's a swimsuit company called Kingfisher and they're taking orders for their 2010 swimsuit model calendar.   Now don't get me wrong,  I love women in bikinis as much as the next guy,  but if you're looking for something specific about Malachite Kingfishers,  forget it.

      The upshot of all this is that I'm now rethinking the practice of including tags in my blog entries.  Am I simply making work for myself by continuing to use them?  Is it a pointless exercise?    If anyone has any thoughts on how to make such tags useful, I'd be pleased to hear from you.  KD     

      Another early morning lion shot from my Botswana adventure.   As was the case with a previously posted image,  this one was accidentally underexposed but rescued in post processing.   Shutter speed used was 1/8000 second but correct exposure would have been about 1/1000 or 1/2000 second.  None the less I'm reasonably pleased with the end result.  The image has been up on my mainsite for a few days as the homepage image with linked explanation.   KD.

       Canon 5D with 500mm lens at f4.0,  shutter speed 1/8000 second at ISO 1600.

     From the Botswana series,  this pied kingfisher obligingly posed on a twig for me.  This species was frequently sighted both hovering over water and also perched as shown here.    Notice the blurred background,  a result of the background being well separated from the bird,  and the narrow depth of field, or selective focus,  given by the long lens used at wide aperture.    The stronger light and stationary subject here allows for a strictly realistic image when compared to the more "impressionistic" blurred effect that occurred with my hovering kingfisher shot posted on 7th October.   

     Canon 5D Mk 2 at 700mm (500mm lens with 1.4x tele-extender) at f5.6,  shutter speed 1/2000 second at ISO 320.

      An unscheduled blog entry,  just to make people aware of some of the rubbish that occasionally gets through the system.   I received a personal message from one of my network friends earlier today in response to a message supposedly sent by me.   The message appeared in her inbox,  with my email address as the source,  and contained in part the following piece of gibberish....

Hellooo!
long time yeah? no see? ...
anyway here you go
I got that for you... :p

      Anyone who's followed my blog for any length of time will be aware that I'm rather particular about spelling and grammar and would immediately be suspicious of the above paragraph.    In addition to that,  the "message" included a link to some other site.   By hovering the cursor over the link,  the web address can be seen and should immediately arouse suspicion.  

      It's not clear to me whether others in my network have received such "messages",  if you have then please treat them with the contempt they deserve and rest assured that I have not knowing had anything to do with them.

      For what it's worth,  the only links that I recommend to anyone are those that I refer to in my blog entries.    KD.  

    Another shot from the Botswana series.   Shot in early morning light,  this majestic fellow also currently features as the homepage image on my main site.   Clicking on the banner image at top of the blog page will take you through to the other shot and linked explanation for those who are curious.   A reminder also that the custom list displayed beneath my profile image provides links to my other internet based activities,  Facebook,  Flickr etc,  with the most detailed explanations of my photos via the homepage image.   cheers  KD.  

  Canon 5D with 500mm lens at f6.3,  shutter speed 1/3200 second at ISO 1600.

      Although I've entitled this entry "early morning patrol",  because that's what this lion was doing,  I could just as well call it "surviving a stuff up".    Once again I've dipped into my files from my Botswana adventure to find this image of a fine young male lion patrolling through the grass of an Okavango Delta floodplain.   I recall this was early in the trip, early morning, and the sun was only just peering over the horizon.   I was trying to get the telephoto lens focused on the lion in the dim light and accidentally engaged exposure compensation resulting in at least 3 stops under exposure.  Unfortunately by the time I realized my blunder,  about 20 or 30  frames later,  the lion was disappearing from view.   Talk about an "Oh Shit" moment!

      Anyway back home and reviewing the shots,  I thought this was compositionally one of the better of my "stuffed up" exposures.   Digital processing to the rescue.   I increased exposure by 2.5 stops in Lightroom and was well on my way to an image that I ended up being reasonably pleased with.      

      Canon 5D with 500mm lens at f4.0,  shutter speed 1/2000 second at ISO 1600.   Resulted in approx 3 stops under exposure.

Blog Changes.

      The observant among you may have noticed that I've changed some of the settings on the blog.  I've added a "Blog Categories" list so if there's a topic you want to refer back to you can.   I wish the list would display in alphabetical order,  would make more sense and be easier to use.    I've also added a custom list below my profile with some web links to my other web based stuff.   Some people have sent me Facebook invites which is nice but the way the system is set up doesn't make a lot of sense.   In order to accept a friend's invite,  I'm prompted to join Facebook which is a bit odd because I'm already on the system.    If you'd like to join me there,  please click on the link and then place an invite through my Facebook profile page,  that's the simplest way.   Cheers KD.

      A red lechwe leaps over a channel in the Okavango Delta.  Taken at dusk,  it's not a great shot by any means,  and I admit that I've taken some liberties with the processing as well.    This was one of three shots that I took in burst mode as this lechwe jumped,  and this I felt was the most pleasing body position of the three shots.    Lechwe are among the more prolific of the larger species in the delta and are well adapted to the swampy conditions with large hooves for running on wet,  boggy ground and a greasy coat which sheds water.     

      Canon 5D Mark 2 with 500mm lens at f5.0.  Shutter speed 1/500 second at ISO 1600.

Apologies.

      So,  what happened to Friday's blog entry?   Sorry folks,  didn't happen.   The reality of shift work means that days just seem to disappear from the calendar,  especially when you're working 14 hour nightshifts,  some of which turn into 17 hour shifts!  (groan)  

     Photographed in the Okavango Delta, Botswana,  this little bee eater was one of several that I saw during my photographic safari.

           Canon 5D Mk 2 with 500mm lens at F7.1,  shutter speed 1/800 second at ISO 1600.

    From my Botswana adventure,  a lilac breasted roller sits on a twig and plays catch with what I think was intended to be lunch.   I took several shots of this scene and am not entirely sure what it is that he's tossing with his bill.   After looking at several frames,  my best guess is that it's a grub sticking to a small twig.   I chose to post this shot as I felt it was the best "moment".    In a "perfect world" I would have preferred that the small branch wasn't obscuring the bird's tail but, with wildlife,  by definition you have no control over the subject's behaviour,  and so have to make the most of what's presented to you.   

    Canon 5D Mk 2 at 700mm (500mm lens +1.4x tele extender) at F5.6,  shutter speed 1/1250 second at ISO 200.

    A quick entry today featuring a young Impala who was good enough to pose for me during my Botswana adventure.   KD.

     Canon 5D Mk2 at 700mm (500mm + 1.4x converter)  at F5.6,  shutter speed 1/1250 second at ISO 200.

     Well,  I figure this one's different enough to qualify as a "Weird Wednesday" shot.    The pied kingfisher was a species which we sighted frequently in Botswana,  it could often be seen sitting on branches or logs,  but also hovering in flight,  as shown here.    I tried several times to get shots of these birds as they hovered over waterways looking down into the water for signs of prey but,  good shots proved elusive.     Often they were far enough away that they were very small in frame and they would often change position suddenly making framing difficult.

     This shot was taken in really poor light,  actually after sunset if memory serves me correctly.    I saw him hovering and thought,  "the light's really not good enough",  but digital photos once taken cost nothing but your time to process,  so what the heck.   The low light meant that even with the lens wide open and a high ISO selected,  I was never going to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the rapid movement of the bird's wings.   Even with the settings I used,  the shot was still under exposed by at least 1.5 or 2 stops.

     In terms of processing,  I ended up throwing just about everything including the kitchen sink at the file to get to this point.   In Lightroom,  I increased the exposure by 1.5 stops,  increased the colour temperature,  opened up the shadows with a curves adjustment and cropped.   With such under exposure,  the shot ended up being really noisy,  so the next step was noise reduction,  how much?    Bucketloads.   The trade off with heavy handed use of noise reduction is a loss of fine detail.  Even after noise reduction,  I still had some noise issues and so I applied a blur to the image,  masking it to the sky area to at least smooth it out. 

      The end result I think doesn't look so much like a photograph but more like a watercolour painting or pastel drawing.   A photo "impression" perhaps?   The movement blur combined with the extreme post processing treatment means that the wings in particular become swathes of colour.   This too is not "photorealistic" as the bird in reality is entirely black and white.   Thankfully,  whilst hovering,  although the kingfisher's wings are flapping madly,  its head and body are still enough as to remain distinctive.           

      Canon 5D with 70-300mm zoom at 300mm and F5.6,  shutter speed 1/160 second at ISO 1250.   (Resulted in considerable underexposure)

      3 spoonbills find that the top branches of a tree make a good vantage point.   This shot was taken moments after the "Egret Landing" shot which I posted recently.   The tree had several spoonbills and egrets perched in it,  but I liked the way these three birds lined up and so chose to concentrate on them.

       Canon 5D Mk2 with 500mm lens at F7.1,  shutter speed 1/4000 second at ISO 800.

    Another shot from my Botswana adventure.    An egret,  wings outstretched and feet forward,  about to land in a tree.  The question is whether it works best as a colour image or a monochrome.  I kind of like both but,  what do you think?   I should point out that a slight vignette effect has been employed in the monochrome version but not the colour version which may influence some people one way or the other. 

         Canon 5D Mk2 with 500mm lens at F7.1,  shutter speed 1/5000 second at ISO 800.

     A cormorant perches over a waterway,  Okavango Delta,  Botswana.    Very little needs to be explained here,  the shot is almost straight out of the camera.  A slight crop,  very slight adjustments to contrast and colour saturation,  use of my signature brush,  sharpening and conversion to jpeg for Internet display,  done.   Total processing time less than 5 minutes.   Wish I could do things that efficiently all the time!    Enjoy,  KD.

     Canon 5D Mk 2 with 500mm lens at F6.3,  shutter speed 1/320 second at ISO 200.

      Another shot from my Botswana adventure,  this is one of several giraffe portraits I took and yet another experiment in toned monochrome treatments.   Interesting how one's approach to image processing can change with,  and benefit from,  taking a break from an image.   I processed this shot last week and was quite pleased with the effect I got.  Putting the processed image aside,  I didn't post it on schedule on Friday (sorry about that chief),  but came back to the image several days later.   On second viewing I felt that the image wasn't quite right and went back into the file to make one simple adjustment.  There's no right or wrong on these things,  just personal taste,  but I'm glad that in this instance there was the delay in posting as the image, or maybe more to the point,  my feelings about it,  "matured".           

   Canon 5D Mk 2, focal length 700mm (500mm + 1.4x converter)  at F6.3,  shutter speed 1/1250 second at ISO 200.

Other web activities.

     Today's image is also the new homepage image at my mainsite,  click on the picture to view the "homepage image explained" page (should open in a new window) if you'd like to know more about it.  

     Several folks from the spaces.live system have joined me over at FaceBook as well,  which is kind of nice.  If you'd like to join me on the FB system,  here's the link:    FaceBook_page;_KD.    At risk of sounding like a grouch,  if you are on FaceBook or you'd like to join me there,  please refrain from sending me stuff from the plethora of add-ons that seem to exist there,  "what breed of dog do you resemble?" "what your star sign says about you"  etc, etc.   I guess some people love that stuff,  but personally,  I find it rather pointless.   cheers KD.  

    Well folks,  if you've visited my blog page before,  you'll know that I normally reserve Wednesdays for stuff that's a bit weird or wacky.   I'm not calling this one weird or wacky,  just a little bit different.   Going through some more of my Botswana shots (will I ever finish them?) I decided to process this egret shot a little differently by going for a toned monochrome effect.   This was really the result of experimenting with the develop function in Lightroom until I arrived at something that appealed to me.    I was torn between sharpening the image further to emphasis the feather details or leaving the image slightly soft,  in the end I chose the latter.       

         Canon 5D Mk2 with 500mm lens and 1.4x teleconverter (total focal length 700mm) at F5.6,  shutter speed 1/1600 second at ISO 200.

Banner image.

     Thanks to those who responded to my "can you see my banner?" inquiry.   I've now rectified the problem,  turns out I somehow messed up the viewing permissions...oops.

Wallpaper Image.

      A reminder that the image on my previous entry "Lion and Red Lechwe" is currently available as a wallpaper or screensaver image,  downloadable in a variety of screen resolutions at my mainsite.    Hit the link on the previous blog entry for details.    My practice is to make such images available for a limited time only,  otherwise the site gets a bit unmanageable.                               cheers KD.

    Still working through the Kwetsani camp shots and our lion, whom we've been following across the floodplain for a couple of blog entries now,  encounters a herd of red lechwe.  The red lechwe is a species of antelope which has adapted superbly to the flood plain conditions.   Completely at home in the semi aquatic environment with a greasy coat which sheds water and large hooves for running over swampy ground, the lechwe maintain a distance from which,  in the conditions,  they can easily avoid the lone lion.   

    Given the detail in this image,  it's best viewed large.   It occurred to me that some readers may wish to use the image as a wallpaper or screen saver for their monitor.    Looking through the statistics for my website,  I can see that 5 different screen resolutions cover roughly 90% of all visitors.  So with that in mind,  I've prepared the image in those resolutions and made them available for download at my mainsite.    Click on the photo for the link and enjoy.   Please note the copyright explanation on the linked page. 

     Cats don't like water,  right?   Well,  as demonstrated by this lion walking through water,  it depends on your environment,  and if your environment is the Okavango Delta,  chances are,  you're going to get your feet wet.   Taken early morning near Kwetsani camp in Botswana,  the lion continues to patrol his territory. 

     Canon 5D Mk 2,  70-300mm lens at 130mm and F5.6,  shutter speed 1/100 second at ISO 400.

     One of the memorable things that occurred during my time at Kwetsani in the Okavango Delta was a wonderful sighting of this lion at sunrise.    As was the pattern,  we got out of bed at 5.30 a.m. had some breakfast and then climbed into our 4x4 vehicles to set out looking for wildlife prior to the sun actually rising.   Our group used 3 vehicles and headed off in different directions.    Just on sunrise one of the vehicles sighted the lion as it stepped out from the undergrowth on the edge of the floodplain and started walking across the open flood plain.    Having got a radio message from the first vehicle we went to have a look too.   This is one of the resulting photos.    This lion,  a young male in beautiful condition,  walked the full length of the flood plain in front of us.   Our guide explained that he was patrolling his territory,  sniffing to try and detect the presence of any other lions that may have passed through the area.   I guess we must have followed him for about 20 minutes or so,  he was completely unconcerned by our presence.  

     Shutters chattered away continuously,  god knows how many gigabytes we collectively shot.   Imagine Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt arriving on the red carpet at the Oscars and you have some idea of the photographic frenzy!   (a "photographic orgy" as one of my travelling companions put it)   Only here there were no flashes and no suggestion of surgical enhancement!      

     Canon 5D Mk 2 at 105mm and F5.6,  shutter speed 1/250 second at ISO 400.